The Name in Action

Exodus: 6:14-30

I find the genealogy here a bit disruptive, like getting a commercial at a critical point in a TV movie. But this is not a movie, and the genealogy is not a commercial. Its significance is suggested by what comes on the heels of it. We are led right back into the action with Moses and Aaron. We are reminded that they are part of a larger time frame, and that they have a very specific role in the larger narrative that is set in motion and carried along by God’s initiative.

The re-stating of God’s name (6:6) prior to the genealogy has the effect of showing that God’s character, expressed in the name, is translated into down-to-earth human history, honouring his creatures by making them, warts and all (verse 30), instrumental in the fulfilling of that story. Moses’ weakness here is not most significantly his speech impediment, but that he is forgetting that the Lord has already given him assurance and help in this regard, by making Aaron and him a team.

Prayer:
I look up at your macro-skies, dark and enormous,
your handmade sky-jewelry,
Moon and stars mounted in their settings.
Then I look at my micro-self and wonder,
Why do you bother with us?
Why take a second look our way?
Yet we've so narrowly missed being gods,
bright with Eden's dawn light.
You put us in charge of your handcrafted world,
repeated to us your Genesis-charge.
- Psalm 8:3-6 The Message (c) Eugene Peterson